COVID* STANDFORD MASK STUDY---Elsevier journal to retract widely debunked masks study whose author claimed a Stanford affiliation p345

Thought of something else that I want to add to our preps...

New filters for the HVAC.

Those super filtering ones, I think they filter out some virus particles.

Might not be a bad idea to have some extras on hand.

Just don't leave them in very long. They are really thick and work the hell out of your system to pull air through them.

Super Bowl Sunday coming up. I forgot all about that. Who's going?

Was just going to say that.

So the fact that there aren't tens or hundreds of thousands of confirmed cases, and hundreds or thousands of deaths across dozens and dozens of countries on most every continent by now is a good sign, no?

Maybe I'm expecting too much, too soon, but if this was going to be some horrific pandemic wouldn't we already be seeing this be much worse?

I'm starting to think this is just another SARS or Zika, or Ebola type scare.

Ah, I didn't think about that aspect - thank you!

I put one in for some virus back in 2009, I think, and my electric bill the following month was double what it normally was.

No. Think of the rest of the world as Wuhan was a month ago.

The US is, maybe, half way thru the incubation period for the Seattle case. Less than half way thru for Illinois, Arizona, and Toronto.

If nothing happens in 10 days, then I will breathe easier.

Remember, there are at least 110 people currently suspected in the US. We are just waiting for CDC test results.

See, to ME, your line of thinking is totally reasonable.

Which is not to say I am not wracking my brain to try and be as prepped as we can be for a 1-2 month long self isolation; I think the risk of a sudden explosion of US cases is still there at this point in time. Every day that passes without such an explosion is a blessing.

[link to www.theonion.com (secure)]

Xi Jinping Vows To Combat Coronavirus By Making It Illegal To Mention Within A Week

In an effort to assuage concerns about how his government has handled the deadly disease outbreak, Chinese president Xi Jinping held a press conference Monday to announce plans to combat the coronavirus by making it illegal to mention within the next week. “We are directing massive resources towards eradicating the slightest hint of any person speaking about the virus, and I promise you that any conversation or literature pertaining to the virus will be completely eliminated during the next seven days,”

Love the gallows humor.

The masks might help keep you from giving someone else the virus if you have it, but what people are not factoring in is the fact that many viruses enter through the ears. Unless you want to muff your ears 24/7 and use hydrogen peroxide every time you might have been exposed, well...

[link to abc7chicago.com (secure)]

"Back in 1928, Dr. Richard Simmons proposed that cold and flu viruses enter the body through the ear canal. And 3% hydrogen peroxide solution (found at any drug store and sells for less than two dollars) is incredibly effective at killing bacteria and viruses. By gargling with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and putting a few drops in your ears at the first signs of a cold or flu, you might be able to decrease your odds of catching the flu."

It's way too early to tell yet. Too many missing pieces of the puzzle.

Clearly the Chinese government tried at first to cover up the presence and the seriousness of this virus. Now they are doing the opposite and enacting extreme measures. Perhaps part of the reason for that is to try to prevent panic, as in "the government has it all under control."

But anytime you have a fast moving virus which is causing a significant number of deaths, particularly in the hardest hit area, almost anything could happen. Like it or not we will have to wait a while to see how this all plays out. It took quite a while with SARS before it was evident that it was dying down and would not become a global pandemic.

Forget protection - just work on how to get better once you have got it!

What if the particular particle of virus that was meant for you came at you closer to your nose and not your ear? Then, the mask would provide some level of protection.

Like I said, almost nobody has the resources to 100% protect himself, but if you could cut your risk of getting it by, say 20%, I'd say it's worth a shot. Hell, I remember ebola workers in Africa wearing nothing but masks to treat patients and while some of them died, not all of them did. I even created a thread, back then, about how the vast majority of the people treating ebola patients were wearing BSL-2 or BSL-3 suits, as opposed to BSL-4 suits that are the space suits meant to deal with the deadliest pathogens, but very few of those people actually died.

Let's not make the perfect the enemy of the good around here. People should not be discouraged from buying whatever PPE they can afford to protect their families just because it can't 100% guarantee success.

There is something to be said about that.

Do we know if this virus will cause the immune system to trigger a cytokine storm? I haven't seen any research about that. If not, elderberries are back on the menu.

The bigwig infectious disease expert doctor that got better was given antivirals.

Lopinavir and Ritonavir are antiretroviral agents that fall into the category of drugs known as protease inhibitors. Both the drugs interfere with the virus reproduction to fight HIV or human immunodeficiency virus.

Lopimune is those 2 drugs in a pill form.

Ok, I did a big grocery stock up at a suburban Indianapolis Walmart this afternoon. I was already on the low side for my household so I really am glad to have gone and gotten loaded up again, whew. Overdid it for a regular grocery trip but this ain't regular ha. Anyway:

- Walmart was pretty crowded for the time of day. I go once a week or so and it is usually much less crowded. It was weekendy crowded in there today.

- Didn't really notice anyone overdoing it on "preps" or really buying a lot of water or rice, etc but I was on a mission and trying to maneuver around people and get out but didn't really appear to be any doom shoppers

- Store was mostly stocked, a few things were empty but maybe hadn't been replenished from the weekend? Not sure.

- Learned from Ebola '14 to purchase things we like to eat and will eat and not just grab everything in a panic. Ended up tossing a lot of cans of chili and beef stew type things that never got eaten so I didn't buy things like that this time.

- No one in masks and I didn't look for masks. The medicine aisles were very crowded but seemed to be mostly senior citizens so I didn't stick around. Will toss things in an Amazon cart.

- Check out lady was wearing gloves, she was Asian. I wanted to ask her about Wuhan but I didn't want to be weird so I didn't. Maybe next time lol

I could stay in now for probably at least a month, maybe a couple of weeks longer if some news came out and I started really rationing. I would probably like to go at least one more time to a different store for more of an extra loading trip though.

I've been on a personal yellow alert since early last week. Where are we now that it's Monday? Should I bump up to orange alert? What level is everyone else on at this point?

I have seen NOTHING on this.

I hope the CDC is tracking down anyone and everyone who has arrived in the US from China during the past three weeks or so. This would include thousands of persons but I believe the government has the resources to do this. And I suspect that is where the 110 suspected or possible cases comes from, those who arrived from China recently and some who did not but have had close contact with those who did.

And since China is now reportedly suspending travel outside the country, I think it would be prudent for the US to impose a travel ban to and from China, "until further notice." If they want to actually contain the spread of this virus in the US, now is the time to get serious about it.

Sorry, I didn't mean that masks won't provide some protection, but people are putting all their eggs in one basket believing that the masks will give complete protection. I am merely stating that people need to factor in other means of introduction into our systems, or they might be making a fatal mistake.

Watchful waiting. News gathering. Sphincter Meter is around 7 out of 11.

I hope so to. But, I know that when MERS was moving around, and there was a case on a plane to the US, the CDC's contacting protocol only included people sitting within 2 or 3 rows (I forget which) of the infected person. Close contact distances.

Because the CDC is emphasizing things like only passed thru "close contact" - 2 meters - I suspect they will not follow up with everyone on the planes, just the close contacts.

I hope I'm wrong.

The coronovirus that triggered SARS initiated a marked cytokine/chemokine event.

[link to onlinelibrary.wiley.com (secure)]

Elderberry syrup should be stopped immediately upon development of symptoms.

Vitamin C megadosing is then your best bet, in addition to whatever other supplementary substances on hand. ie. green tea catechins, vitamin D, nicotine.

If youre not walking into your house with a hazmat suit what do those filters matter anyways?

Thanks. Megadose of Vit C, D and nicotine vaping it is, then. That's gonna be a tricky conversation to have with the wife about our two kids.

Maybe something slips in the door behind you and gets sucked in to the filter?